Sabres continue early season dominance

On Tuesday, December 15, 2018, the Sartell Sabres hosted the Alexandra Cardinals for a huge CLC tilt. The Sabres entered the game with a 3-0 overall record and a 2-0 conference record. The Cardinals entered with a 2-4 overall record and a 2-2 conference record.

Halftime Score for the game between the Sartell Sabres and Alexandria Cardinals Boys Basketball game.

The Sabres got off to an electric start after Gieske won the tip-off against 6’10” Sophomore Forward Trey Thompson. The Sabres began the scoring with a 2 point shot from Senior Matt Weno from inside the point. Cardinals Guard Trey Hoepner and Sabres Forward Luke Tillotson both got into foul trouble after receiving 2 early fouls. The first half ended with the Sabres winning 32-22 fueled by a combined 21 points from Senior Thomas Gieske and Junior Matt Sieben.

The second half began with a plethora of scoring from both teams after they combined for 22 points in under 4 minutes. Alexandria Guard Trey Hoepner knocked down 3 consecutive three-pointers to bring the Cardinals within 2 points of the Sabres.

Hunter BoelzFinal score of the December 18th Boys Basketball matchup between Sartell and Alexandria

The scoring slowed down for both teams but the game remained close throughout the entire second half. Senior Thomas Gieske, Senior Luke Tillotson, and Junior Matt Sieben led the Sabres in scoring the second half with a combined 53 points. The Sabres went on to defeat the Cardinals 66-61 and are now 4-0 in 2018-2019. The Sabres will be hosting the Willmar Cardinals on Friday, December 21, 2018, for their annual Tommy Bearson Night.

The annual dance competition at Eastview High School has always been a big deal. This is the one competition where the best dance teams in the state attend. The Eastview Invitational is also the only competition where Totino Grace and Benilde-St Margaret’s, who are Sartell’s biggest competitors, will all be at the same competition. This year, however, Faribault, who is also a major competitor will be there. This is why the Eastview Invitational gets the name of “mini-state” due to the fact this is the only invite where all the big competitors will be.

This year, the Eastview Invitational took place on Saturday, December 8, 2018. The results of the competition include the following:

Varsity High Kick:

Third: Faribault High School

Liz McGeeSSDT fans wait for the team to come out and dance for them.

Second Place: Totino-Grace High School

First Place: Sartell High School

Varsity Jazz:

Third Place: Sartell High School

Tied for First: Totino-Grace High School and Benilde- St Margaret’s High School

The dancers had a very busy day on Saturday, and here is how they felt the day went from the perspective of a senior and a freshman.

Senior: Izzy Kucala

Q: How do you feel the team did on Saturday?

A: I thought we did very well and at the time was one of our best performances. The team was very focused.

Q: What was your favorite part of the day?

A: Probably the bus ride there, because everyone was deliriously tired, and it was really funny.

Liz McGeeThe SSDT is ready to walk on and blow the crowd away with their routine.

Q: What was your least favorite part of the day?

A: It was an extremely long day, because of the gift wrapping after the competition.

Q: Does the pressure of this competition being a “mini-state” that is put on the team affect how you do?

A: I thought so, this year it wasn’t a bad way though, because this year everyone was so focused and new that this would determine how the rest of the year will go.

Freshman: Alexa Anderson

Q: How do you feel the team did on Saturday?

A: “I feel like the team did pretty good.”

Q: What was your favorite part of the day?

A:” My favorite part of the day was probably performing.”

Q: What was your least favorite part of the day?

Brooke Andel, sophomore, touching up her make-up before going to perform

A: “I don’t think I have a least favorite part of the day.”

Q: Does the pressure of this competition being a “mini-state” that is put on the team affect how you do?

A: ” I feel like a good amount of pressure affects how we do, but in a good way.”

The Sartell Sabre Dance Team had an invitational at Academy of Holy Angels a week later on December 15, 2018. This competition is a less intense environment than the Eastview Invitational. The results included the following:

Varsity High Kick:

Third: Simley High School

Second: Austin High School

First: Sartell High School

Varsity Jazz:

Third: Austin High School

Second: Simley High School

First: Sartell High School

Reese SchwarzentraubThe SSDT jazz team talks about their goals for the day before going out to compete.

Due to the change in intensity of the competitions, this is how they dancers felt about the difference between the meets:

Senior: Izzy Kucala

Q: What was different about the two competitions?

A: For Academy, since it was less stress and wasn’t against our toughest competitors, we didn’t try as hard as we could have. It wasn’t our best performance.

Q: What did you like about Eastview that wasn’t present at Academy of Holy Angels?

A: I liked the attitude and atmosphere, all the dancers there were really into it and really excited to perform their dances. At Academy, everyone seemed like they didn’t want to be there.

Q: Do you like high-intensity competitions or low-intensity competitions better? Why?

A: I like high intensity because it gives you a reason to push yourself harder and it generally makes the day go by faster.

Freshman: Alexa Anderson

Q: What was different about the two competitions?

A: ” Eastview was a much bigger competition compared to Academy of Holy Angels.”

Q: What did you like about Eastview that wasn’t present at Academy of Holy Angels?

A: “I liked how Eastview had a bigger crowd because it was much more fun to be there.”

Q: Do you like high-intensity competitions or low-intensity competitions better? Why?

A: “I like high-intensity competitions more because they are overall more fun.”

Sartell basketball prevails in double header against Sauk Rapids

On Friday, December, 14th 2018 Sartell ventured across the river in the battle of the courts. Sartell girls and boys both had varsity games played on the main court in Sauk Rapids. The girls kicked off the doubleheader at 6:30 PM with the boys following at 8:00 PM.

Sartell 56 v. Sauk Rapids 35

The girls’ varsity team kicked the night off strong for Sartell varsity basketball. They jumped out to an early lead and never took their foot off the gas during the first half. The team played strong together and capitalized on Sauk Rapid’s errors. At the end of the first half, Sartell would have a solid lead going into the second half of the game.

Sartell Girls basketball had a dominant first half against Sauk Rapids High school.

The second half started a lot slower than the first half though. Both teams would combine for 8 points in the first eight minutes of the second half. After a timeout called by Sartell Girls’ Basketball head coach Katie Martin, Sartell came out firing on all cylinders. They would never look back and would finish the game with a final score of 56 points, to Sauk Rapid’s 35 points. SHS senior and captain Emily Driste led the charge leading the team in points.

Sartell 67 v. Sauk Rapids 41

The boys’ varsity team kicked off after a dominating girls victory, and they looked to do the same. The first half was a tightly contested contest that featured lots of back and forth play. Sartell was led by Junior Matt Sieben and Senior Thomas Gieske who would both score 11 points in the first half.

Hunter BoelzSartell Boys Basketball had a solid lead going into halftime against Sauk Rapids.

The second half would commence with an even more powerful charge from Sartell where they would double their score and even more. As the game clock ran down, Sartell’s win became more evident, so head coach Marcus Oistad decided that the bench players and players that didn’t necessarily get much playing time normally would get some playing time in the end. The game would end with Sartell on top, and they would improve their record to 3-0.

Hunter BoelzSartell Boys Basketball team edges out against Sauk Rapids on Friday, December 14th.

After the game, Senior Jake Schelonka shared his overall thoughts about the win:

“

I thought everyone played well as a team and that everyone contributed to the win.”

— Jake Schelonka

Sartell girls have a game on Tuesday, December 18th away against Alexandria and then a game on Friday, December 21st against Detroit Lakes. The boys’ team has a very similar schedule playing at home on Tuesday and Friday (Alexandria and Willmar). Friday night is Tommy B night at Sartell which is a night dedicated towards the passing of Tom Bearson, a Sartell graduate and basketball player.

Their first game was on Friday, November 30th. The boys played Crookston where they pulled off the win with a final score of 6-1. Michael Webster (sophomore) was the only scorer in the first period. In the second period Jack Henneman (senior), Brock Boerger (senior), and Austin Adelman (senior) all hit the net in the back of the second period. In the third period, Jack Henneman scored again, and Maddux Hagy (senior) scored his first goal of the season. The goalie Cole Bright (senior) also had a good game making 16 out of 17 saves.

The Sabres played not even 24 hours later against Warroad. The Sabres scored first in the first period, with Connor Kalthofff (senior) finding the back of the net. The game went on without any goals from the rest of the first period and the entire second period. It was not until the third period when Warroad knocked in two goals to take the lead over the Sabres. With less than five minutes left in the game, Connor Hacker (sophomore) scored to tie it up. With 56 seconds to go Jack Henneman scored to put the Sabres in the lead. At the faceoff, Warroad one the puck and scored bringing the game into overtime. Warroad then found the net in overtime to win the game 4-3.

“

We shut Crookston down and everyone did a good job of putting the puck in the net. The boys are looking for a comeback after a hard loss. ”

Saturday was a rough game, and we still have a lot of areas we need to work on as a team. Tuesday versus River Lakes should be a tough game considering it is early in the season and a conference game.”

— Maddux Hagy

On Tuesday, December 5th, the boys came through the tough game and conquered River Lakes. The first and the only scorer of the first period was Cameron Cromwell (senior) but the Stars managed to keep up a tough fight to not let any more goals in for the rest of the first period. During the second period, Michael Webster (sophomore) scored first. Both teams kept fighting for the entirety of the aggressive game. Then River Lakes scored next, but the Sabres reacted fast with Hayden Walters finding the back of the net. Next to score was Michael Webster and the following goal to put the game away was Cameron Cromwell. Devin Peterson (senior) only let in one goal and defended his goal with solid skills for the rest of the game.

It’s that time of year again: dance season. Every year dancers and the Sartell student body look forward to watching the dance team compete and crush it at state. Before the Sartell Sabre Dance Team’s first show on November 17th, I decided to interview two prominent dancers at Sartell High, Emma Gent, and Taylor Pearson, to get a good look at their upcoming season.

Kelly McCarneySartell Seniors

Q. What are you looking forward to most this season?

Emma Gent: Getting closer with the team and performing with them.

Q. When is your first dance show?

Emma Gent: This upcoming Saturday, November 17th.

Q. How have your coaches influenced you?

Emma Gent: They really help you focus when you get nervous.

Q. Why do you want a spot on this team?

Emma Gent: I like dancing with my close friends.

Jon PearsonDance Team at State

Q. Which style of dance do you think is your strongest and why?

Emma Gent: Kick because it’s easy for me to be tight.

Q. What three characteristics do you feel are most important for dancers to possess?

Emma Gent: Passion, focus, and determination.

Q. Do you have any rituals you do before a dance show?

Emma Gent: We pray and then hit a poster for good luck.

Q. How do you improve during the offseason?

Emma Gent: We have summer camps that we go to as a team.

Jon PearsonCelebrating at state

Q. What inspires you to dance?

Emma Gent: My sister danced when she was in high school.

Q. If you could give any advice to young aspiring dancers, what would it be?

Emma Gent: Just to keep trying and do the best you can no matter what.

Q. What are you looking forward to most this season?

Taylor Pearson: I am looking forward to continuing to grow as a dancer and making my senior year of dance the best.

Jon PearsonDance Team at state

Q. When is your first dance show?

Taylor Pearson: November 17th, 2018 12 PM.

Q. How have your coaches influenced you?

Taylor Pearson: My coaches have taught me that you get what you give and how to win and lose while being humble at the same time.

Q. Why do you want a spot on this team?

Taylor Pearson: I really enjoyed dancing with my friends.

Q. Which style of dance do you think is your strongest and why?

Taylor Pearson: I think kick is because I cannot turn and that is basically the fundamental of jazz.

Jon PearsonDance Team cheering at state

Q. What three characteristics do you feel are most important for dancers to possess?

Taylor Pearson: Perseverance, Grit, and Passion.

Q. Do you have any rituals you do before a dance show?

Taylor Pearson: Yes, we do a team prayer before going on the floor and also hit a poster that says “Dance Like a Champion.”

Q. How do you improve during the offseason?

Taylor Pearson: I continually stretch and do cardio pushing myself a little more than the previous day. I work out even on days we don’t have practice.

Heidi ReitzDance Team Kick routine

Q. What inspires you to dance?

Taylor Pearson: Dance is a way for me to get away from everything else. When I am dancing I don’t think about anything other than dance. It is an escape from reality. I also love to perform and it makes me happy in a way nothing else does.

Q. If you could give any advice to young aspiring dancers, what would it be?

Taylor Pearson: Never settle. Keep working to be your best self each day. Whether it is moving a finger one inch closer to the person next to you or something larger like flexibility, there is always something to be worked on.

To follow the Sartell Dance Team this season, look for more updates on these links:

Weekend of Dance

This past weekend local dance teams held their annual dance shows to raise money for their teams. St. Cloud Tech’s show was on Friday at 6:30pm, and St. Cloud Apollo’s show was on Saturday with shows at 10:00 and 2:00pm. Both shows had a variety of content with both high school dance teams performing along with local studios.

St. Cloud Tech’s theme for their dance show was “Game Day,” and it was held in the main gym. Along with area teams performing, their alumni came back and did a routine as well. Tech performed to the song “It’s All Coming Back to Me” for their jazz dance and “Rhythm Nation” for their kick dance.

Apollo’s theme for their dance show was “Don’t wish for it, work for it.” They also had numerous studio’s from the area along with St. Cloud State’s dance team performing their pom and jazz dance. Apollo danced to “Crowd” for their jazz dance and a Freddie Mercury mix for kick.

A new season has BEGUN

Falls sports are now ending for schools this year. Winter season sports have now begun and they’re better than ever. I talked to captains of different sports and asked them a few questions about the upcoming season.

Brooke Walters hockey career: the inside scoop

Is your sport your life? It is for one Sartell senior. Brooke Walters shoots pucks in her driveway and runs hills for hours.

Sartell students assume Brooke is headed D1 but instead of just adding to the rumors, the LeSabre sat down with Brooke to find out her thoughts on hockey and what exactly her plans are for the future.

Q. When and why did you decide to play hockey?

Brooke: I started to play when I was 10 years old. I decided to play because I saw my brother play, and I wanted to try because he said it was a lot of fun.

Greg KremerBrooke at Hockey Day MN.

Q. What habits and practices have you found that positively impact your athletic performance?

Brooke: Some habits are trying to eat healthily and working out, and practicing specifically for hockey, such as shooting the puck and working on quick feet.

Q.What have you done in the offseason to improve?

Brooke:I shoot, run hills, lift, stickhandle, and I am on the ice almost every day in the summer.

Q.Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Brooke:I usually have to eat roughly two hours before I play and then once I get to the rink I tape my stick and watch JV and while I’m doing this I listen to music, then we warm up and get dressed.

Q.What’s your best memory from your high school hockey career?

Brooke:Going to state my freshman year.

Sabre Photos.Brooke Walters with the puck.

Q. Is there any advice you could give to younger hockey players?

Brooke: To work hard and have fun because high school goes super fast.

Q.Do you have any plans of playing college hockey?

Brooke:Yes, I want to play at Vermont University, and if that doesn’t work I will most likely go to River Falls.

Q.How has the recruiting process been

Sabre PhotosBrooke beating Duluth defenders.

Brooke: It has been stressful because Sartell is such a small school it has been harder for me to get myself in front of college coaches, and girls commit so early now that I’m finally getting coaches to see me but they have almost a full roster because they committed girls when they were in 8th grade.

Journey to the Tourney: Wrestling

As a way of recognizing the athletic talent here at SHS, the LeSabre is going to follow state qualifying sports teams on their journeys to the tourneys. This edition is all about the Sartell Sabre Wrestlers.

Three Sabres qualified for state: Jackson Penk (120), Nick Pelach (126) and Cole Fibranz (220). Cole Fibranz is the defending state champion at 220. While Jackson Penk placed 3rd place at 113 last season. The tournament starts on Friday, March 2nd, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

This week I had a chance to sit down with Junior Wrestler Jackson Penk and ask him a few questions about the upcoming tournament.

Q. What have the wrestlers been doing in preparation for this year’s State Tournament?

“We have been having more relaxed practices with more attention on what you need to work on individually.”

Q. What are your goals for this year’s state tournament?

“My goal is to improve from last year.”

Q. What has been the hardest part about this season?

“Maintaining my weight.”

Q. If you could describe your Journey to the Tourney in one word, it would be…

“Hard.”

Q. What are you most looking forward to at this year’s state tournament?

“The atmosphere of the Xcel Energy Center! It’s cool with all the people there.”

Boys basketball prepping for the playoffs

The Sabre boys basketball team is gearing up for a run at the state tournament.

With the regular season coming to a close I had a chance to sit down with Junior Captain Luke Tillotson about this year’s team: “We are coming off of a good win vs Rocori, we are peaking at the right time and playing our best basketball of the season.”

Junior Luke Tillotson poses with assistant coach Koubsky

Though the Sabres are 4-20, they are putting all of their focus on the playoffs. Every team has a clean slate and it is win or go home so anything can happen.

“

Our team motto is to trust the process.”

— Luke Tillotson

Tillotson went on to share, “Our section has some powerhouse teams but if we play our best team basketball we can have a shot at bringing the section 8AAA championship back to Sartell.”

Be sure to come to Senior Night on Friday Mar. 2nd vs Moorhead to cheer on the basketball team. Also be sure to check out the section playoffs starting next week.

On Saturday, February 17th, Chick-fil-A delivered free chicken sandwiches along with chips, cookies, and beverages to the Sartell Girl’s Basketball team after their morning practice. Chick-fil-A is a chain restaurant located in St. Cloud, MN near Crossroads mall.

Chick-fil-A has had a giving policy since founder S. Truett Cathy began the restaurant. According to the company, Chick-fil-A has donated over $68 million to charity and education since it was founded.

Founder S. Truett Cathy dedicated his life to giving back to the community, which eventually pushed him to keep Chick-fil-A a private company. Although Cathy could’ve had a great payday making the company public, Cathy aspired to keep full control over the company to ensure that Chick-fil-A kept giving back to the community.

Chick-fil-A takes open donation requests, so if you’re interested in getting free food for your organization, fill out this form.

“

Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else – our time, our love, our resources. I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return.”

Journey to the Tourney: Gymnastics

As a way of recognizing the athletic talent here at SHS, the LeSabre is going to follow state qualifying sports teams on their journeys to the tourneys. This edition is all about the Sartell Sabre Gymnastics Team.

The Sartell Gymnastic team qualified for the state tournament as a team this year for the first time in 17 years. This was quite an accomplishment not only for the gymnasts competing but the entire gymnastics program. The girls placed first at sections in Monticello, which qualified them for the state meet.

Kenadee Meyer shared with us her thoughts of their Journey to the Tourney.

Q. What has the gymnastics team been doing in preparation for state?

“We’ve been getting mentally prepared for the tougher competition that we’ll face going up against the best teams in the state.”

Q. How do you think you’ll match up to your competitors?

“We’re hoping for the best placement possible.”

Q. What has been the biggest difficulty this season?

“There are a lot of freshmen that were new to the program this year, so they had to learn the ropes of how we do things at Sartell.”

Q. If you could describe your Journey to the Tourney in one word, it would be…

Junior gymnast Abby Weber also shared how special it was to go to state as a team.

Q. What are you most excited for state?

“The whole team is going this year.”

Q. What does it mean to you to be a part of a team going to state for the first time in 17 years?

“It means a lot for the program and the Sartell gymnastics community; it’s a big accomplishment for us gymnasts and our coaches too.”

Q. What do you think will set your team apart from the others?

“We bring the party and love each other.”

Q. To what do you owe this team’s success?

“We didn’t let the nerves get to us this year; we just did our normal gymnastics and didn’t freak out.”

Q. If you could describe your Journey to the Tourney in one word, it would be…

“Brave”

The SSGT fought hard for a medal at the state tournament. They tied for third place with Mahtomedi with a score of 146.450. The judges then factored in the fifth gymnast into the score to break the tie. This resulted in a one-tenth-point difference, which lead to the Sabres ultimately getting fourth place in the state tournament. We are proud of our gymnasts and hope the best for them on their future endeavors in the years to come!